Unsung Heroes Nigel Slater's Simple Suppers

I'm Nigel Slater and cooking tasty simple dishes gives me immense pleasure.

For me, there are some ingredients that just don't get enough praise.

They're never top of the shopping list and maybe a bit undervalued.

There are so many ingredients that seem to get all the attention,

but the ones that really interest me are the ones that aren't hogging the limelight.

It's those that I want to champion and make the stars of the show.

I'm going to show you five great ideas that put some

unsung heroes back on the menu and back on your shopping list.

An extraordinary plate of lovely textures and great flavours.

Just a really great supper.

Many of my favourite cuts of meat are not the ones that you instantly go for.

It's actually the cheap cuts, the ones that are very often tucked at the back of the butcher's slab.

Things like pork belly.

To make this unloved cut of meat sing, I'm marrying it with a spicy fruity salsa.

A cut like that with plenty of fat and masses of flavour,

will take some pretty boisterous seasoning.

Bash some garlic cloves with some rough sea salt into a smooth paste.

I want this meal to be exotic, so I'm going to make a rub inspired by Eastern cooking.

Light soy sauce is perfect.

Add a flavourless oil, like groundnut, to make the marinade go further.

And I think this needs some heat.

So I'm going to use dried chilli.

Pork and chillies are very happy together.

Make sure your belly pork is scored so the marinade can be absorbed into the meat.

Finally, a decent pinch of Chinese five spice, to give a lovely smoky quality.

And this goes over the pork

and then that goes into a really hot oven.

It needs about an hour and don't be scared of using a high heat.

That's the secret to great crackling.

Belly pork has got a lot of fat, it's what makes it so succulent.

And I like to serve it with something really sharp to cut through that fat.

And for me, one of my favourites is a really refreshing salsa.

Chop some spring onions into generous pieces so you get a full-on crunchy texture.

Now to that, just going to put in a bit of fresh chilli.

Hopefully, I'll get a mouthful of

very luscious roasted meat and fat and then every now and again, a little spike of chilli

and fresh salsa.

Most salsas require some sort of fruit.

I really love using are ripe peaches.

There's something about soft ripe fruit

and chillies.

It's that double hit of something quite cooling and refreshing with

something very hot and spicy.

It just works.

For sharpness, add the juice of four limes.

Fresh coriander will help soothe the heat from the chillies.

Pour in some fruity olive oil to bind it all together

and chill in the fridge till the pork is ready.

Let the meat stand for ten minutes so it can relax before carving.

Sizzling, mahogany brown,

smells slightly spicy.

That is one juicy piece of meat.

It's very mildly spiced, and this extraordinary succulence and juicy quality.

And then of course the zap from the salsa

and it all comes together in the mouth, it's really quite exciting.

Just can't believe that this cut isn't more widely used.

It's so succulent and it's so delicious.

And it's sensational with this spicy salsa.

Belly pork packs more flavour than the fashionable cuts,

and the zesty salsa makes a really fresh accompaniment.

I think chard is probably one of my favourite vegetables of all.

It's just amazing, it's just such a pity that more people don't appreciate this veg.

It's so beautiful,

it's got great flavour, it's really quite versatile and it grows like topsy.

I really want more people to get to love it.

This chard is the main event in a warming dish of green lentils.

I'm never sure whether to call this a soup or a stew, it's kind of in between the two.

Begin by frying some garlic and onions in olive oil.

Add some chopped parsley and a few sprigs of fresh thyme.

There's always something in the larder that I kind of overlook.

There's things that end up being at the back of the cupboard.

And so often it's things like lentils and beans.

I love cooking with them, but I can't always be bothered to soak beans.

I'm not that organised, but lentils require absolutely no soaking. So I can put those in.

Now add some liquid, it could be just a bit of water.

But if you have some vegetable or chicken stock then even better.

I've got a base of flavour, with onions and lentils.

But I want more than that, I want to give it some real depth.

Sometimes I use bacon for that.

But I know, somewhere at the back of the fridge there's always a bit of parmesan and I just pop it in

and it'll end up having a real depth of flavour.

Season with a generous grind of pepper, cover

and leave to snooze for twenty minutes.

It's smelling so good.

But I think the whole thing needs brightening up a bit.

Lemon juice and a good pinch of salt gives it a real kick.

Always salt lentils towards the end of the cooking time.

If you salt them at the beginning, they sometimes go really hard.

While the lentils rest, steam your bright lights of chard in a small amount of water.

It only takes a couple of minutes.

These stalks are quite tender, but they've still got crunch to them.

The leaves are really soft and silky, like the very best spinach.

Now I'd be very happy to tuck into that as it is.

I kind of want something else with it.

Just like the idea of a very sharp cheese melting softly into it.

Little bit of goat's cheese.

It's one of those meals that I need a knife, a fork and a spoon for.

And it just comes together.

An extraordinary plate of lovely textures and great flavours.

Just a really great supper.

Not sure the cat'd like it though.

At first, fresh chard and lentils might not seem the sexiest

of ingredients, but believe me, this dish really sings.

So on your next larder raid, don't forget about them.

Sometimes we just grow a few things on the window ledge.

Or maybe in a pot outside the back door.

But sometimes we find ourselves with enough space to grow almost all our own food.

Ian and Kathy Shand moved to their Derbyshire home

eight years ago for one obvious reason.

Oh, you've got a lovely space here.

This garden is simply a celebration of home grown gems.

Damsons! What do you do with them?

Well, we make chutney, but more interestingly, we make damson gin.

My favourite drink in the entire world is damson gin.

Oh, right, well, we have got some.

-Yes.

-It wasn't a hint, it wasn't a hint!

The veg patch is as glorious as any ornamental flowerbed.

I've never actually met anybody who grows such a variety.

How gorgeous is that?

People say all veg gardens are boring and they're utilitarian but I like everything the way it looks.

-You've come at the right time of year, of course.

-Yes.

-Well, I don't know.

-It doesn't look like this in January.

I know, but I'm looking at kale, I'm looking at lettuce and celeriac.

And celery and carrots and beetroot, and sweetcorn and more strawberries.

You must be self sufficient.

Do you ever buy any veg from the supermarket?

Well, I haven't mastered bananas yet.

-Or oranges.

-Or lemons.

-Oh, what are you messing around at?

Yes, I know. There is something going wrong somewhere.

As well as the bounty of veg, there's also a wealth of fruit,

including some I've never seen before.

-This is a Japanese wineberry.

-Oh, this is a wineberry.

We bought it as a climber, we didn't buy it for the fruit.

-It's like a cross between raspberries and redcurrants.

-Yeah.

It's like a little summer pudding.

I want this plant!

This selection of splendid fruits has inspired me to conjure up

a simple dish, which we tend only to cook once a year.

Pancakes mixed with some home grown heroes from this wonderful garden.

This is a little bit of ricotta cheese which I cook with quite a lot actually because it's quite light.

And it's nice that you can use it in a savoury sense or for sweets.

Mix together sugar, three egg yolks, flour and orange zest.

Stir into a batter.

Then whisk the egg whites until light as a feather and silky.

That was under your chicken a few minutes ago.

I'm going to fold that into the cheese and sugar mixture.

-You mentioned your damson gin.

-Oh, yes.

You haven't got just a little bit of it, have you, just a drop?

-Shall I bring the bottle?

-Yes. Would you mind?

-Wonderful. I think I'll play with that.

-It's vintage.

-Damson gin, 2004.

-Oh, yeah.

-You've been making this for a while, haven't you?

A dash of this garden's finest vintage will help marry the fruits together.

Take care not to turn your pancakes too often, they fall apart if you flip them too soon.

Absolutely wonderful.

-Oh, wow.

-Any good?

-Yeah!

Oh, it's delicious. Don't need cream or anything.

I don't think you do, no, cos the inside of it's quite creamy because of the ricotta.

Oh, oh, it's delicious.

-Gorgeous.

-That's fantastic.

The fruits of Ian and Kathy's labour have been eight years in the making,

but you don't need all this space to get hooked.

The smallest of patches or a few pots is a great way to start.

So if you're getting the grow your own bug,

then why not check out my exclusive recipes?

When it comes to cooking fish, it's often easier to buy fillets or steaks.

I know the thought of heads and fins can put people off,

but whole fish on the bone needn't be scary.

In fact, it's really simple to cook and tastes fantastic.

So for tonight's supper, I'm braving the heads and tails for an unsung hero.

Sea bass, cooked whole.

To prove just how easy they are to cook, I'm doing them outside on a hot grill.

If I'm going to cook them on the barbecue,

all I do is stick some butter in there.

And then some sort of citrus, either lemon or maybe lime.

Sliced up a bit. I just tuck those slices into

and on top of the fish.

And what happens is as the parcel gets hot, then all the juice will turn to steam

and it'll mix with the butter. A little bit of salt and the pepper,

and that's all the seasoning you need on a fabulous fish.

It isn't a recipe, it's more of an idea.

Loosely wrap your sea bass in foil

and give it a good ten minutes so the citrus steam infuses the fish.

This smells really buttery and lemony.

Just peel that skin away.

You can tell he's cooked when he'll very easily slide off the bone.

When you strip away all the unnecessary ingredients

and you throw away all the complicated techniques,

and you do something very, very simply, it's not frightening.

It's just very straightforward and absolutely delicious.

You can cook any fish like this, don't think sea bass is the only option.

Whole mackerel is especially good.

When I want to stir a bit of booze into my food, I often think of wine, or maybe a bit of brandy.

But there's also other things that are just as good, if not better.

It's not an easy job, brewing, it's definitely hard work, but it's why we brewers have such good complexions.

We're steamed pretty much constantly whilst we're working.

So one of the perks of the job, I guess you could say.

After water and tea, beer is the world's most popular drink.

English beer is kind of going through a renaissance really.

In the last 20 years there's been microbreweries

springing up all over the place, and the British cask ale market's really going great guns at the moment.

Will Twomey has been brewing beer since he left school and it seems he loves his work.

When it comes to different styles of beer, the four main ingredients

that you'll find in any beer throughout the world is malt, hops, water and yeast.

Depending on how the ingredients are used, you could get a huge range of beers.

There's something strangely comforting about beer.

Maybe it's the thought that the process has hardly changed for centuries,

or maybe it's simply the naturalness of the ingredients.

These are all English hops, grown locally in Kingston Bagpuize, which is South Oxfordshire.

We'll leave them to steep for maybe five minutes and that'll just strip

the essential oils off them and impart that flavour into the beer.

There's well over 100 different varieties of hops available to brew with.

Lagers, obviously, light ales, right the way through to very dark,

very rich, very fruity beers with slightly less hop character.

I always think that the darker beers are most suited to cooking, really,

cos you've got a lot... I find the maltiness really kind of brings out

the flavour in a dish, so I think you can't really go far wrong.

Beer will make all the difference to this hearty beef stew.

What I really like about cooking with beer

is that as it cooks, you get whole waves of flavour.

There's a little bit of bitterness, a bit of sweetness

and depending on what you put it with, you get some amazing results.

On a cool night, this is exactly the sort of food I want.

Rich, beefy casserole,

little bit of booze in it.

I want thick, juicy steaks, rather than little cubes.

Brown in some butter and season.

Whilst that's browning, chop some onions.

When you cook onions slowly, for a long time, they become really sweet

which is exactly what I want when I'm cooking with beer.

Cos beer does have a bitter edge, so this sweetness will balance it.

When the meat has started to brown on the edges, I'm going to put it onto a plate and set it aside.

While the meat rests, cook the onions in the meat juices.

Add some thyme and cook gently for about 15 minutes

until they're glossy and sticky.

They're almost amber coloured and there's something rather honeyed and sweet about their smell.

This dish really is all about the gravy and I want it to be luscious.

I want it to be really thick. I'm going to add a little bit of flour.

I know it's very unfashionable to add flour to sauces but I don't care.

Stir in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes.

Then you're ready for your star ingredient.

We very rarely use beer as stock.

As it cooks, it mellows and it sweetens slightly.

And you end up with a sauce that's really glossy and very deeply flavoured.

If you want a bit more seasoning, add a dollop of your favourite mustard.

Cover and pop in to the oven for about an hour.

This is a lovely rich casserole with a very deeply flavoured sauce,

but I want something that's going to lift it a little bit.

Something maybe a little bit sharp. Now I'm going to break with tradition.

Apple sauce always ends up with pork, and I think it's such a shame.

They work very well with onions, with beer and they work beautifully with mustard.

Any apple you've got in the fruit bowl will do.

Heat with a bit of water, sugar and cinnamon.

Simmer until it's soft enough to crush with a fork.

I don't want them to be a soft and sloppy puree,

I want them to have a little bit of softness and a rough texture too.

Now this beef has had a good 50 minutes.

Well, that's nice and tender to start off.

You know, I could have made that with stock, I could have

made it with wine and it would have been really, really good,

but what I've done with using the beer is I've given it

sort of endless depth. You get a little bit of a bitterness and then some softness

and some sweetness and it just kind of goes on and on. It's really interesting.

That's such a good meal for a slightly windy night,

glossy and bronze and sweet and mellow.

Even if you aren't a beer drinker,

it's well worth having a few bottles in the cupboard.

I must admit I've always had a sweet tooth,

so it's impossible to walk past an old-fashioned sweet shop

without a pang for a childhood favourite.

Everything brings back a little memory.

You've got midget gems!

Maybe it's the child in me, but ice-creams, crumbles

and meringues are all an absolute must in my kitchen.

And there is one treat I just could not live without.

You know, I could kill for cake, I love the stuff.

One of my very favourites is carrot cake.

But why carrots? Why is it always the carrot that's the star?

Why couldn't it be one of the other sweet root vegetables?

I mean beetroot,

it's got a gorgeous colour to it.

It's just as sweet as carrots,

and it's very cheap. Why not beetroot cake?

So tonight, beetroot is the hero, in a beautiful, light and simple cake.

I tend to cook by instinct, I very rarely weigh anything.

But baking's different. You have to be accurate.

It's one of the few times that I actually get the scales out.

So, to be precise, 225g of self raising flour,

a teaspoon of baking powder

and half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda.

I want a hint of spice too.

Sweet cinnamon is perfect.

Carefully sieve it all into a bowl so your cake mixture will rise evenly.

Now, traditionally, you'd start a cake with butter and sugar.

But I don't want butter in this cake,

I'm going to use a bit of oil, a flavourless oil like sunflower.

You need the same amount of sugar as flour.

I'm using muscovado for a butterscotch flavour.

What happens when you use oil with cakes,

is they stay moist for quite a long time,

so you can wrap them in foil and have them in the pantry for as long as you need.

Separate three eggs. Keep the whites. You'll need them later.

Now grab your star of the show.

Beetroot isn't everyone's cup of tea, but trust me, it can be delicious.

The reason that beetroot has lost out to all the other veg

is because so many of us met it as a slightly sour, pickled vegetable,

sitting there in really acidic malt vinegar and wrecking our salads.

And maybe that's why so many people have taken an aversion to it.

A selection of dried fruits and seeds will give the cake a bit of crunch and added sweetness.

I'm using sultanas,

pumpkin seeds,

linseed and sunflower seeds.

I'm going to put a bit of lemon juice in there, to sharpen the whole thing up.

I'm going to add all of the dry ingredients, so the flour, the fruit and the seeds.

And then the beetroot.

Now that would make a good rich fruit cake, but I want it to be lighter.

So I'm going to whip up the egg whites and fold them in.

Pour every last bit into a loaf tin and bake for about an hour.

To dress up my cake, I'm going to make a simple icing.

I prefer to use unrefined icing sugar.

It gives a lovely fudgey flavour.

Pour in the juice of a lemon and then for a touch of nostalgia, a splash of rosewater.

What it might remind you of is Turkish delight,

because rosewater's used in flavouring Turkish delight.

Check your cake. It's ready if nothing sticks to the skewer.

When it's cool, pour over the icing,

and sprinkle with some poppy seeds.

It's very butterscotchy and sugary, and then somewhere there is

this lovely earthiness, which must be the beetroot.

I'm very pleased with that. I'm really pleased that that's worked.

Who says beetroot should live in a jar?

This cake is an absolute delight and will stay fresh for days.

I've given you five tasty, simple suppers

that have put forgotten gems back in the limelight.

Next time, I'll be sharing more supper secrets with some saints and sinners.

Food to make you feel good.

And food that's very, very naughty.

You could keep these for a few days in a tin,

but I'm not going to.

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